The High School Experience
by icecr0wn
Summary: Phil always sees movies about high school being the best years of his life. It's the start of his senior year and, so far, it hasn't been much of an experience. But as him and his best friend, Pj, meet two new guys starting school with them, Phil's dull life may just turn around.
1. Chapter 1

People say that high school is supposed to be the best time of your life. It's supposed to be filled with excitement, trying new things, and completely new experiences. Movies about high school almost always involve wild parties, finding your 'true love', or something else equally exciting. However, it wasn't that way for Phil Lester. In fact, his high school career has basically been the complete opposite of all of those things.

It wasn't that he wasn't pretentious and was too good for those kinds of things, he just never felt like doing them. And even if he did, he certainly didn't live in the right town for it. He lived in the very small town of Sawtry, and there was almost nothing to do here. Phil and his parents moved here when Phil was around 7 years old from Manchester.

Now, if he still lived in Manchester, he might be having the 'high school experience'. Although, as hipster as it sounds, he preferred spending his spare time at home drawing or playing video games, or hanging out with his best friend, PJ Liguori. Unenthused about his last day of freedom before the beginning of his final year of school, that's exactly what he was doing right now.

Phil and PJ were just wrapping up their final round of Mario Kart, and PJ was so close to finally beating Phil.

"I'm gonna do it, Phil. I'm finally gonna beat you!" PJ half-shouted.

Phil rolled his eyes, "We'll see about that, Peej." he smiled.

As if on cue, Phil got a blue shell and, as he was coming up behind Pj, threw it at him. This gave Phil enough time to pass PJ, and he crossed the finish line.

"What?! That's not fair! I was sooo close!" PJ exclaimed.

Phil laughed, "It is fair, Peej, that's how the game works. I'm just better at it than you." Phil smiled, smugly.

PJ lightly shoved him and laughed. "Are you hungry? I feel like I could eat everything in my house." he said, walking into the kitchen.

At the mention of food, Phil sprang up and joined PJ in the kitchen. He sat on one of the barstools as PJ was getting sandwich supplies.

"Ugh, I don't want to go back to school tomorrow." Phil groaned.

"Why did you have to bring that up? I was having such a good time." PJ whined as he started on his sandwich making.

Phil chucked as he also started to prepare his meal. "Sorry." he said. "Who knows though? Maybe it'll be a good year. They always say that your last year is the most laid back. You know, minus all of the constant worrying about what you're going to do with your future."

PJ glared at him, "Thanks Phil. Very comforting."

Phil looked down, sheepishly. "Right. I should probably stop talking."

PJ laughed and shook his head, "Nah, it's fine. It's just that, like, time goes by SO fast. I can literally remember things from 5 years ago that feel like they happened yesterday. It's a really weird feeling." he said.

"I know what you mean," Phil sighed "but let's not talk about it anymore. We have exactly.." Phil took out his phone and looked at the time. 6:24 pm. "..fourteen hours and 36 minutes left until school starts." he smiled.

"That's plenty of time left to play more Mario Kart." Pj grinned.

They finished making their sandwiches and set out to the lounge to continue their game. When they finished their food, Phil looked at the time again. An hour had passed. Time was going by almost too quickly.

Phil stretched his legs and got up from the sofa. "I should probably get home. I'm gonna need lots of sleep if I want to survive tomorrow." he chucked.

"Yeah, same here. I'll see you tomorrow though! You can still give me a ride, right?" PJ asked.

Phil nodded, "Yeah, I'll be here around 7:15, that way we have enough time to get all of our books and find our new lockers and everything."

"Alright mate. See you then!" Pj said, and gave Phil a hug goodbye.

Phil got in his car and was on his way home. Before he went home, he stopped at the local video game store to browse. Himself and Pj came here a lot. So much that everyone that worked there knew who they were. Phil walked in and was about to greet whomever was working at the present time, when he realized that the boy working was not a familiar face.

The boy looked up from the book he was reading. "Hi! Can I help you find anything today?" he said politely.

Phil returned the smile, "No thanks, I'm just looking." he said.

The boy nodded, "Well let me know if you need help with anything!" he smiled, yet again.

Phil looked at him confusedly for a moment, before browsing through the new DS games. He saw Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, forgetting that they had come out. He decided on getting Omega Ruby, and made his way to the checkout counter.

The boy from earlier again looked up from his book and scanned the item. Phil noticed his name tag read 'Dan'.

"Um, sorry, but are you new here? I come in here all the time and I've never seen you here before." Phil asked him.

Dan smiled at him with that polite smile, "Yeah, I moved here a week ago from Wokingham. I wasn't expecting a video game store in a town as small as this, but once I saw it, I knew it was a sign." he chuckled.

"Oh, are you going to school here then?" Phil asked.

Dan nodded, "Yep! I didn't really want to spend my last year of high school in a new place, but everything will work out. I hope." he said, almost sadly.

Phil frowned slightly. "Well you're more than welcome to hang out with me at school. I'm Phil." he smiled and reached out his hand.

"I'm Dan." he smiled and took Phil's hand to shake it.

"I better go, it's getting a bit late, but like I said, feel free to talk to me at school!" he grinned.

Dan nodded his head, "I definitely will. I'll see you tomorrow, Phil!"

Phil waved and headed out for his car. Maybe he was right. Maybe this year was going to be different.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: how did you guys like the first chapter? pleeeease review!**

Phil woke up the next morning to the annoying sound of his alarm. He rolled over and tried to get the offending noise to stop. Once he finally got it to stop, he groaned and got out of bed.

He quickly took a shower and was now deciding what to wear. He wanted a fresh start, since if was finally, yet unbelievably, his last year of school. He decided on a plain black t-shirt with a cat pocket, and his usual pair of black skinny jeans.

He looked at his phone. 7:05 am. He quickly grabbed a granola bar and a bottle of water before heading out to door for Pj's house.

He arrived at Pj's precisely on time, and honked the horn, too lazy to get out and knock the door. A couple minutes later, a very tired-looking Pj came out of the house and got in the car.

"You alright, mate?" Phil asked.

Pj let out a deep sigh, "Yeah, I just had a really hard time trying to sleep last night. Just kept thinking about how this is our last year and what the hell I'm going to do with my life." he said.

"Hey, everything is gonna be fine, Peej. Don't get all depressed on me now. It's the first day of school. You've still got a long time to figure out what you wanna do. It'll be fine, I promise." Phil said and gave Pj a reassuring smile.

Pj smiled back and gave Phil a slightly-awkward hug, it being a bit hard to do considering they were in a car.

"Thanks, Phil. You're the best." he said.

Phil laughed as he pulled out of Pj's driveway, now on their way to school.

They got there around 7:30, which meant they had plenty enough time to get the books they needed and get everything sorted out into their lockers.

As they walked in, Phil noticed Dan standing by the office, looking at a piece of paper which was most likely his schedule.

"Dan!" Phil half-shouted, waving him over.

Dan looked up and smiled at the familiar face, and made his way over to Phil and Pj.

"Dan, this is Pj. Pj, this is Dan. I met him last night at the video game store." Phil said.

Pj stuck his hand out for Dan to shake, "Nice to meet you, Dan. Are you in year 13 too?" he asked.

Dan shook Pj's hand and smiled, "Yeah, I am. Starting at a new school wasn't exactly the way I planned for my last year to go, but I have high hopes for it." he said, sneaking a glance at Phil.

"We're just on our way to drop all of our stuff off at our lockers, do you wanna come?" Phil asked him.

"I actually already have all of my stuff put away, but I'll still come with you. Do you mind showing me where my classes are? I know it's not a big school but I feel like I'm gonna get lost." Dan chuckled.

"Sure!" Phil smiled, "Can I see your schedule?" he asked. Dan handed over his schedule, and as Phil was looking it over, he noticed that Dan had every class, apart from one, with him.

"You literally have every single class except for one with me." Phil giggled, "We have the first 5 classes together, and then you have Music Appreciation. Peej has that class though!" he smiled.

Dan laughed as he was handed back his schedule. "That's actually awesome, now I feel slightly less nervous." he said.

"Don't be nervous, this school is actually pretty awesome. Most people get along with everyone, minus a few. But those people rarely bother to show up anyway, so you'll be fine. Plus, you've got me! And Pj." he smiled. "Come on, let's go put our things away."

After Phil and Pj finished, they realized that they only had six minutes before class started.

"Okay, we all have English first. That's my favorite subject, mostly because the teacher is really awesome and nice." Phil said. "This way!"

Dan, Phil, and Pj walked into English and were greeted by a very friendly-looking teacher called Mr. Slater.

"Hi boys! Sit wherever you'd like." he said, enthusiastic, "Oh, sorry, you must be Daniel, yes?" he asked.

"Y-yes. Hello, sir." Dan said, nervously.

Mr. Slater chuckled, "Nothing to be nervous about, Daniel. Chris over there is new as well." Dan, Phil, and Pj all turned their heads to see a boy with lots of fringe sitting in the back corner. "Anyway, if you have any questions about homework or anything, don't hesitate to ask me. Although, things are pretty straightforward in my class, so you shouldn't have much to worry about." he smiled.

"I will, thank you sir." Dan said.

The three all decided that they'd sit next to Chris, considering he was new as well.

He looked up from what he was doing when he saw that they were all sitting by him; Pj directly next to him, and Dan and Phil in front of him.

He removed his earbuds and shut his music off, "Uh...hi?" he said.

"Hi, I'm Pj, and this is Dan and Phil." Pj said, motioning to the two other boys.

"I'm Dan." Dan smiled.

"Phil." Phil added.

"I'm Chris." he smiled, "Sorry, I'm not used to being directly approached by strangers." he chucked.

"No need to be sorry." Pj smiled, "We obviously noticed you're new, so we figured we'd sit by you. Dan's new too."

"Do you guys like, recruit the new kids or something? Are you in a cult?" Chris eyed Phil and Pj suspiciously, though obviously joking.

"Yes, we are. And you have no choice but to join us." Phil said, seriously.

"Hmm, what kind of cult are you running then?" Chris asked.

"The cult of...awesomeness? Yeah, the Cult of Awesomeness." Pj said.

"Well, I'm happy to join. We could be the Fantastic Foursome!" Chris exclaimed, "Which, by the way, is a way better name than the Cult of Awesomeness." he winked at Pj.

Pj's stomach flipped at Chris' wink and he blushed slightly, "Yeah, okay. The Fantastic Foursome it is, then!" he said.

The rest of the students started coming in, and Dan noticed that the class was really small compared to the classes at his old school. He felt relieved, knowing that it would be a lot easier to get comfortable with 15 kids rather than 25.

"I told you it wasn't a very intimidating school." Phil whispered to Dan.

Dan smiled at him and his mind began to think. Maybe his final year wouldn't be so terrible after all.


	3. Chapter 3

The first half of the day went by faster than Dan had expected. He realized that most of the people in this school were kind and easily to get along with, for the most part.

It wasn't a very big school which made him more at ease, but it also made him feel a little bit nervous. A smaller school meant that word travels fast and everyone would know about whatever it was that was being spread around. Dan just hoped he wouldn't get any rumors spread around about him.

Aside from his slight nervousness, he was extremely happy. Phil and Pj made himself and Chris feel very comfortable. Apparently, their only close friends were eachother, so it was just the four of them at lunch. After the four got their lunch, they sat down at a table towards the corner, secluded from the rest of the student body.

"So, are you guys doing anything after school today?" Pj asked the group.

"Nope!" Chris said, happily.

"I don't think so. I'd have to double check with my mom though. Why?" Dan asked.

"Because I thought we could hangout at my place? We could play video games and stuff. It'll be fun!" Pj exclaimed.

Dan smiled. He'd never really had close friends, let alone friends that invited him to their house.

"That sounds great, let me just text my mom and let her know!" Dan said, excitedly.

The four of them sunk into a conversation about video games, deciding which ones they were going to play at Pj's house.

"You know, Dan's probably a master at video games, considering he works at a video game store." Phil said to the group.

"I didn't know that!" Chris exclaimed, "That's so cool!"

"Yep, I haven't been working there for very long, but it is really cool. It's also kind of upsetting because there are some people that come in there and buy some pretty cringe-worthy games." Dan said. "And also, I am a master at video games, but working at Gamestop has nothing to do with it." he winked.

"Wait, what kind of cringe-worthy games are you talking about?" Phil asked, interested.

"Right, so this guy came in the other day and he was something else. He was slightly overweight, he had a neckbeard, and he was wearing a fedora. I could definitely tell he was one of 'those guys'." Dan said, using his fingers to make air quotes, "Anyway, I tried to be a decent human being and not internally judge him, but then he picked out the game and I couldn't stop from laughing a bit."

"Oh god, what game was it?" Pj asked.

"I bet it was Call of Duty." Chris said.

"Nah, it was probably Grand Theft Auto." Phil retorted, chuckling.

"Guys...I wish it was those games. It was so much worse. Prepare yourselves." Dan said. He took in a deep breath. "The game he got was, I shit you not, My Little Pony for the Wii U."

"What?!" Phil, Pj, and Chris said simultaneously.

"You're actually kidding me, right?" Phil said.

"I'm being completely serious. And like I said, I was trying to be a decent human being so I was like 'Oh, are you buying this for your daughter?' and he was like 'Nope, I love these little ponies.' and I almost had a fucking stroke." Dan said.

The four of them burst into laughter, causing everyone in the cafeteria to look at them. When they finally stopped laughing, a girl in their year came up to the table next to Dan.

"Hi, you're Daniel Howell right?" she asked, politely.

"Just Dan, but yes I am. Why?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm Becca! I just wanted to introduce myself. Do you maybe wanna come sit with my friends and I?" she asked.

"Thanks, Becca, but I'm pretty comfortable where I am." he smiled.

"Oh, right, sorry." she said, her smile fading, "I guess I'll see you around then!" she turned around and walked away.

"That was super awkward." Pj said.

"Psh, she didn't ask me if I wanted to sit with her! I'm new here too, you know." Chris said, faking hurtfulness.

"I think maybe she's just wanted to sit with Dan, if you know what I mean." Pj said, glancing at Phil.

"Be careful around her Dan. She seems really nice but she's really manipulative and bitchy, especially to the boyfriends that she's had." Phil said.

"Oh, trust me, you guys don't have to worry about that." Dan said. He mentally slapped himself and immediately regretted saying it.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Chris asked.

Dan hesitated for a moment. He just met these people this morning. They were the only friends he had and he certainly didn't want to mess that up. What the hell, he thought. If they can't accept me for who I am, then I don't even want to be friends with them.

Dan took a deep breath before elaborating, "Well, it's just that...I'm, uh..I'm gay." he said, "I kind of just came to terms with it earlier this year. I sometimes still have a hard time coming to terms with it, but it feels so good to say it."

"Oh, that's good! Now we don't have to worry about you falling into Becca's trap." Pj giggled as Phil and Chris joined in on the laughter.

"Wait, you mean, you guys are cool with it?" Dan said, genuinely confused.

"Of course. First of all, it's 2015, most people are cool about homosexuality. Second of all, Phil and I are gay too. It's no big deal." he said.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you two were together?" Dan said.

"No no, we aren't. Just friends!" Phil said, smiling.

Dan returned the smile but still felt a little weary.

"If it helps, I'm bisexual so I understand as well. You're not alone Dan." Chris said, clapping Dan's shoulder.

"Thank you so much, guys." Dan said, "It means a lot to me."

The bell eventually rang, dismissing lunch and forcing the four to split up to go to their next classes. Dan walked to his next class with the biggest grin on his face. _This year is going to be amazing_ , he thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Phil sat in his last class - History - and was desperately waiting for the day to be over. Twenty-five more minutes, he thought. Normally, he loves History and is very eager to participate. But today was different. Today, himself, Dan, and Chris, were going to Pj's house after school. Phil went to Pj's house all the time, but it was more special this time because Dan and Chris were going to be there. Phil and Pj got along really well with Dan and Chris, mostly because of their shared interests.

To be honest though, Phil mostly couldn't stop thinking about Dan. It made him slightly upset that he didn't have this class with him. Ever since Dan had came out about the fact that he was gay, Phil couldn't help but start to realize how attractive Dan was. His big, brown eyes...you could get lost in them, he thought.

He was suddenly snapped out of his daydream due to the sound of the bell ringing. Had he actually been thinking about Dan's eyes for 25 minutes?

He shook the thought out of his head and continued to his locker to grab his bag and put his books away. Suddenly, he felt two hands on his shoulder.

"Boo!" the person yelled. Phil jumped and whipped his head around to find a grinning Dan.

"Stop, that scared me!" Phil giggled, "Your mom said it was ok if you came to Pj's right?" he asked.

"Yep, I have to be home by 7 though." Dan said.

"Did you drive here? Because Pj and I rode together so I figured we could all ride there together." Phil said.

"No, my mom dropped me off, so that's fine," Dan said.

"Are you gonna need a ride home then? I'd be happy to take you!" Phil said, smiling.

"Yeah, actually. That'd be great, thanks!" Dan said, smiling, "Pj said he was gonna go find Chris and then he'd meet us here."

As if on cue, Chris and Pj were heading towards Phil's locker now.

"You guys ready to go?" Pj asked, addressing the group.

"Yep!" they said, in unison.

"Onward, to the parking lot!" Pj said, in a knightly accent, making everyone laugh.

Once the four arrived to Pj's house, they were immediately immersed in the fantastic world of snacks and video games.

They decided on playing Mario Kart. Phil smirked slightly when they decided on this, because he knew he'd destroy all of them at this game.

However, Dan surprisingly beat Phil at the very first track they played, which also happened to be the easiest track in the whole game, in Phil's opinion.

"Wow, I can't believe you beat Phil, Dan. He's a champ!" Pj said, laughing slightly.

"I wasn't joking about being the master at video games!" Dan giggled.

"Yeah, well I would have beat you if it weren't for that damn blue shell," Phil jokingly frowned, "We'll just see how well you do on the next track."

Inevitably, Dan beat Phil at the next 4 tracks that they did. Phil didn't mind though, as he was having an amazing time with the rest of the guys.

After the sixth track, which Dan also beat everyone at, they decided to stop and make some food.

"Let's see...I've got stuff to make sandwiches, mac and cheese, pizza…" Pj said, looking through his kitchen.

"Pizza!" Chris yelled, "I've been craving pizza all day."

"Pizza it is, then." Pj smiled.

Once the food was ready, they sat in the living room and decided to watch Adventure Time, as it was apparently a show that they all enjoyed.

After several hours of Adventure Time and casual conversation, Phil realized that it was nearly 6:30, meaning that he would have to take Dan home soon.

"Hey Dan, it's almost 6:30, do you wanna get going?" Phil asked.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea as my house is like 15 minutes away." he said.

"Okay! Chris, do you need a ride home?" Phil asked.

"Nah, my mom should be here to pick me up soon," Chris replied, "Thanks though!"

"Alright, I guess we're off then! Thanks for this awesome day, guys. We definitely need to do it again sometime soon." Phil said, a bit sad that he had to go.

Himself and Dan walked out the door after waving goodbye to Chris and Pj, and got in Phil's car.

"So where do you live?" Phil asked.

"I live on Barber Street. Do you know where that is?" Dan asked.

"Yeah, that's literally one street away from mine!" Phil said, smiling.

"Really? That's good, I hoped my house wouldn't be too out of the way. I don't wanna be a nuisance to you." Dan laughed.

"Psh, you wouldn't be a nuisance at all," Phil said, "Besides, I did offer to take you home."

"That's true," Dan chuckled, smiling slightly, "Thanks again by the way."

"It's no problem. Do you wanna listen to music? I've got loads of CD's in the glove box." Phil asked.

"Sure!" Dan said. Moments later, Dan let out a squeal similar to that of a teenage girl. "Oh my god, you like Muse?!" Dan asked enthusiastically.

"Do I like Muse? Is that even a question? I love Muse. They're literally my favorite band." Phil said, smiling.

"Mine too!" Dan said, grinning, "And you like My Chemical Romance too?!"

"My Chemical Romance was the band that got me into alternative music!" Phil replied, "They're amazing!"

"You are literally the coolest person ever, Phil. I'm so glad I met you!" Dan said, with a huge smile on his face.

Phil's face went immediately red and his heart started to practically jump out of his chest. How could something so innocently said make Phil feel this way? He quickly composed himself and focused on the road.

"I'm really glad I met you too, Dan." Phil said, smiling.

After 10 minutes of listening and badly singing along to Muse, they finally arrived at Dan's house.

"Here we are then." Phil said, slightly sad that Dan had to go.

"Can I be honest about something? I don't want you to leave! This day has been so much fun, Phil. Seriously." Dan said.

"I don't really want to leave either," Phil said, frowning, "Today's been really fun for me too."

"Do you maybe want to stay the night? I mean, I know it's a school night but my mom won't mind as long as we're in bed at a decent time." Dan said, eagerly.

"Yeah, that'd be great! Let me just text my mom and let her know that I won't be home." Phil smiled.

 _Staying the night at a friend's house. Don't worry, I'll go to sleep at a decent time. Love you xx_

Not even a minute later, Phil got a text back.

 _Alright, dear. Have a good night! x_

"She's fine with me staying!" Phil said, excitedly.

"Yesss! Let's go!" Dan said, opening the car door.

 _This is gonna be an interesting night_ , Phil thought.

A/N: sorry for the cliffhanger oooops ~


	5. Chapter 5

Dan didn't exactly know why he invited Phil to stay over. He'd only known him for a day, but as cliche as it sounded, it felt like he'd known him for a very long time. **  
**

It was only after the fact that Phil's mom said she was alright with him staying when Dan got nervous. He's never had a friend stay the night. Hell, he'd never even had a friend over at all. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to act? And what about tomorrow? Phil didn't even bring a change of clothes! Maybe this was a bad idea, Dan thought.

"Dan?" Phil asked, "Are you alright?"

This snapped Dan out of his over analyzation, "Yeah, it's just, well…to be honest, I've never had a friend stay the night before," he began, "So I have no idea how to be the proper sleepover host."

"Hey, don't think too much about it," Phil said, "It's not as intimidating of a situation as you're making it out to be."

Dan smiled, "Thanks, Phil. I suppose we should probably go inside now instead of standing on my porch."

"That's probably a good idea." Phil laughed.

"Keep in mind, our house is still a bit messy as we just moved in." Dan said, opening the door, "Welcome to my home." he chuckled.

"Wow, it's so nice! It has a really cozy feel to it, you know what I mean?" Phil said, taking everything in.

Dan chuckled, "Yeah, there was a much more extravagant house that was cheaper, but this just kinda felt a place you could really call home."

Dan shook his head and guided Phil through the hallway into the living room. His brother, Adrian, was sitting on the couch watching The Walking Dead.

"Hey Adrian, this is Phil, he's staying the night," Dan said, "Phil, this is Adrian, my little brother."

"Nice to meet you, Phil." Adrian said, eyes still glued to the television.

"You too! Do you go to our school as well?" Phil asked.

"No, I'm only 14 so I'm still in secondary school." Adrian said, obviously bored with the conversation.

Phil nodded awkwardly, ending the conversation.

"Come on, Phil. I'll show you my room," Dan said.

Dan motioned for Phil to follow him up the stairs.

"Sorry about him, he's not very talkative." Dan apologized.

"That's fine, he's at the weird age so it's expected." Phil said.

Dan led them down a narrow hallway and stopped in front of what looked to be his bedroom door.

"Don't mind the mess," Dan said, "Like I said, I'm still trying to get things sorted and what not."

Dan opened the door to reveal a medium sized bedroom. To the right, there was a old-looking grand piano and a desk with a computer on top of it. To left was his bed, covered with various clothes, a dresser with various books and trinkets on it, and a wardrobe that ironically had no clothes in it. The walls were somewhat bare, the only things hanging on them were a Muse poster and a Attack on Titan wall scroll.

"You like Attack on Titan?!" Phil asked, excitedly.

"Yes! You do too?" Dan asked.

"Of course, it's one of the best animes, in my opinion." Phil said.

"I've never met anyone that likes anime, oh my god. I'm so happy right now." Dan said.

"Really? The only other person I know that likes it besides you is Pj! We should all have an anime marathon some night." Phil giggled.

"Hell yeah, that'd be awesome!" Dan said, excitedly. "Sorry again about the mess, by the way. I'm just gonna put all of these clothes away. Make yourself comfortable." he smiled.

Phil turned to the dresser, picking up one of the books and flipping through it.

Dan, however, still couldn't get the nervousness out of his head. He really hoped Phil had a good time. Then a thought struck him. Where the hell was Phil going to sleep?

The guest room was in terrible shape with boxes everywhere, the couch wasn't exactly comfortable and had no privacy, and the floor was certainly not an option. _Oh god_ , Dan thought, _he's going to have to sleep in my bed_. Dan immediately blushed at the thought.

"Uh, hey Phil?" Dan asked, "The guest room is really cluttered right now and I'm not gonna make you sleep on the floor, so do you mind sleeping in my bed with me or is that too weird?"

Phil chuckled nervously, "No, that's fine, I do it with Pj all the time." he smiled, reassuringly.

Dan returned the smile but still couldn't help feeling very nervous. _Come on_ , Dan thought, _pull yourself together. It's just Phil…adorable, beautiful-eyed, amazing Phil._

"Dan, you alright?" Phil asked.

This snapped Dan out of his Phil fantasy, "Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about something." he said.

"Oh? What were you thinking about?" Phil asked with a soft smile.

Dan blushed furiously, "Uh, nothing, just..um…are you hungry? I'm hungry. Come on, let's go find something to eat." Dan said.

Dan took Phil's hand and pulled him downstairs to the kitchen. On the way there, he noticed the living room was now empty. Adrian must have retreated into his room.

After a couple seconds of looking, Dan found some popcorn.

"Popcorn?" he asked Phil, "We can watch a movie too."

"Sure, that's fine." Phil said.

Dan put the bag in the microwave and pushed the popcorn setting.

"So…." Dan said, awkwardly.

"Are you sure you're ok, Dan?" Phil asked, "Are you still thinking about trying to be a good host? Because you're doing just fine." he said, stepping closer to Dan and placing a reassuring hand on his back.

"No, I'm sorry, I promise it's not a big deal." Dan said, looking away shyly.

"It's a big deal to me," Phil said, "You're my friend and I don't want you to be upset about anything. Please tell me."

Dan looked up at Phil, whose face seemed a lot closer than it was before. He immediately got lost in Phil's eyes. _He's so gorgeous_ , Dan thought.

Dan now noticed that Phil was slightly inching closer. _Oh my god_ , Dan thought, _is he going to kiss me?_

Dan glanced at Phil's lips, leaning in slightly. _I can't believe this is happ-_

Whatever moment it was that the two shared was gone as the sound of the microwave beeping filled the kitchen.

Dan immediately moved away from Phil, "Sorry," he muttered.

He grabbed the popcorn out of the microwave and set it on the counter, turning away from Phil. His cheeks felt extremely hot. Trying to calm himself down, he turned to Phil with a smile plastered on his face.

"Come on then, Philly. Let's go pick out a movie." he said, leaving the kitchen.

Although Dan seemed to be calm and collected, his heart was racing and his stomach was in knots.

 _Damn microwave_ , he thought.


	6. Chapter 6

Phil was embarrassed, maybe even ashamed of himself. He's known Dan for a day and he's already tried to kiss him? _Ridiculous_ , he thought.

Now he was trapped inside Dan's home until tomorrow. He was already starting to feel awkward and uneasy because of Dan's presence.

They were about 20 minutes into Kill Bill when Phil couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Look, Dan…about earlier.." he began.

"Phil, let me stop you right there," Dan interrupted, "I know it was stupid, alright? I'm sorry. I'm willing to put all of it behind us if you are."

Phil stared at Dan with shock. _What the hell was he sorry for?_ Phil thought. He didn't want to make matters worse, so he nodded in agreement.

Dan smiled, "Good. Come on, I've seen this movie a million times, let's go play video games." he said.

Phil smiled as he followed Dan upstairs. He was just about to sit down when he realized something.

"Hey Dan, where's your mum and dad?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh, my dad's at work. He works the later shift." Dan said, "And my mum's probably in the office. She's an accountant so she can do a lot of work from home. Why?"

"Oh, just curious. I just didn't want to be intruding or breaking any rules or anything." Phil said.

"No, it's fine," Dan laughed, "Do you wanna meet her?"

"I don't wanna bother her if she's working!" Phil protested, slightly panicking.

"Nah, it's fine. She's chill." Dan quipped, "Come on!"

Phil turned out of Dan's bedroom and followed him through the hallway. They came to a stop outside of a room two doors down from Dan's.

Dan knocked softly and opened the door, revealing a dimly lit office with a lot of boxes and a small desk with a computer sat on top of it.

A woman, who was obviously Dan's mum, turned around and smiled brightly at her son.

"Dan! When did you get home, love?" she asked.

"About 45 minutes ago." Dan said, "This is Phil, a friend from school." he motioned to Phil.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Howell," Phil smiled, politely.

"Lovely to meet you too, dear, but please call me Alice." she said sweetly.

Phil laughed awkwardly and nodded his head, not knowing what else to say.

"So, Dan, how was your first day at school? It's nice that you've already made a friend." She smirked, glancing at Phil.

"It was great, mum. There's another new boy there as well, his name's Chris. And there's also Pj which is Phil's friend." Dan said.

"Well I'm glad that you've gotten along with everyone, hopefully you'll finally have a good year at school. God knows you deserve it after what happened." Alice said, giving Dan sympathetic eyes.

Dan, however, made it obvious that he wanted to change the subject.

"Phil's gonna stay the night, is that ok?" Dan asked.

"That's fine, but I expect both of you to be in bed by a decent time." She said.

Dan scoffed, "Yes mum." he said, "See you tomorrow."

"Bye Alice, thanks for letting me stay." Phil said.

"No problem dear, make yourself at home." She said, smiling sweetly and returning to her work.

Once they were out of the office and heading back to Dan's room, Phil spoke up.

"Your mum seems really nice, I like her." he said.

"Yeah, she's cool." Dan said in a monotone voice.

"Dan, are you alright?" Phil began, "I mean, sorry if I'm being intruding, but is this about what your mom said about you finally having a good school year?" he asked.

Dan sat down at his bed and put his head in his hands.

"Phil, I'm gonna be honest with you. I've never really had friends. And I don't mean that I've had one or two close friends and didn't really speak to anyone else, I mean I literally had no friends." he said, "I've never had a sleepover because I never had the friends to have one. I mean, I wasn't depressed or anything. Not at first anyway. I was actually quite content with being alone." Dan paused for a moment, thinking of what to say.

"After a while, though, being alone isn't fun. Especially when the people at school aren't exactly nice about it." he said, "And then when I came out, somehow the whole school knew about it and I was treated even worse."

Phil had now joined Dan on his bed and pulled him in for a hug.

"Dan, I'm so sorry you had to deal with that." he mused, pulling back, "You know I'm always here for you, right? And I'm sure Peej and Chris will be too." he said.

Dan wrapped his arms around Phil's neck and pulled him in for a tight hug.

"Thanks, Phil. You seriously don't know how much that means to me." he nodded, pulling back slightly.

Phil smiled at him and looked into his eyes. They were an alluring shade of brown. So alluring that it made Phil feel cozy. It made him feel at home.

"Phil, did you hear me?" Dan asked.

Phil snapped out of the haze he was in, "Yeah, sorry. Um, no problem. Hopefully I can help make your last year in high school a good one." he reassured.

"You already have." Dan whispered in a barely audible voice, "I'm gonna use the loo, be right back." he said, leaving his bedroom.

Phil fell back onto the bed and closed his eyes.

 _It's definitely not normal to think about your friend's beautiful eyes_ , Phil thought, _especially when you've only known them for a day._

But Phil had experienced a similar feeling before. Two years ago, he was in a relationship with a boy named Luke. They only dated for a few months, but those few months made Phil experienced enough to know how it felt when you liked someone.

 _This is bad_ , he thought. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and texted Pj.

As if on cue, Phil received a text from Pj.

 _Phil, some things happened after you and Dan left and I think I might like Chris. Like, I think I have feelings for him. Is that super creepy and weird or..?_

Phil laughed and texted him back.

 _Oh Peej. I know the feeling. We'll talk tomorrow._


	7. Chapter 7

Dan wasn't sure why he even worried about Phil staying the night in the first place. After Dan had basically told Phil his entire life story, things were pretty normal. They spent the rest of the night playing more video games and talking about things that they both had in common, until Dan's mom made them go to bed.

Due to the fact that the guest room was cluttered with moving boxes, Phil was sleeping with Dan in his bed. Normally, Dan wouldn't be bothered by this. He's not a beast, he can control himself around people he finds attractive. But this was different. Phil was different.

 _Right,_ Dan thought, _now I know why I was worried about him staying over._

It had been about 30 minutes since they were both told to go to sleep, and Dan was still wide awake. _How the hell am I supposed to sleep when Phil is literally sleeping only centimeters away from me?_ he thought.

Dan looked at the clock on his bedside table. 12:15 am. In groaned inwardly and reached on the table for his phone and earbuds.

He put the earbuds in and selected a "Sleep" playlist that he found on Spotify. He put his phone down next to him and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would come to him.

Dan surprisingly woke the next morning before his alarm went off. He looked at the clock, which indicated that it was 6:37 am. Dan rubbed his eyes and sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. He went to move to get out of bed when he noticed something holding him back. Dan almost stopped breathing at the sight. There was Phil, curled up next to Dan with an arm draped tightly around his torso.

Dan's heart rate accelerated greatly and, honestly, he had no idea what to do.

 _Should I wake him up? Do I move his arm off of me or should I leave it?_ Dan thought.

He decided on keeping still. _But wait_ , Dan pondered, _does this mean Phil likes me?_

 _No,_ Dan thought, _don't be stupid. He's probably only doing this because I'm the only thing here and he's used to cuddling with a stuffed animal..or even someone else._

Dan's eyes went wide with realization. _Oh my god_ , he thought, _does Phil have a boyfriend? I know him and Pj aren't together but he never said he was single. Is this considered cheating?_ Thoughts similar to these swam through his head, along with trying to figure out what the appropriate thing to do in this particular moment was.

Suddenly, Dan was thrown out of his thoughts by Phil tightening his arm around Dan and laying his head on Dan's chest.

Dan's mind was screaming and his heart was racing. Phil is literally laying on me. He looked over at the clock again to find that only 10 minutes have passed since he woke up. The alarm wouldn't go off for another 43 minutes. Dan let out another sigh and looked down at the sleeping boy on his chest.

He's so adorable. He absentmindedly started to run his hand through Phil's hair, which made the boy snuggle closer into Dan.

Dan smiled contently and relaxed. Laying with Phil like this made him feel cozy and warm inside, and he couldn't have been happier than he was right now.

Dan woke up a while later when his alarm went off. I must have fallen back asleep, he thought. He reached over and turned the alarm off when he realized that Phil had still not moved from his position on Dan's chest. Only now, Phil's eyes were opened and he had a very shocked look on his face.

"Good morning, sunshine." Dan said, happily.

Phil immediately rolled off of Dan and sat up, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." he said, running a hand through his hair, "Ugh you probably think I'm so creepy now."

Dan chuckled and sat up, facing Phil.

"Phil, it's fine. Honestly, I love cuddling," he giggled nervously, "Plus, you helped me fall back asleep."

"What do you mean?" Phil asked, confused.

"Oh, I woke up at like, 6:30 this morning and I usually can't fall back asleep once I've woken up, but, I don't know…" Dan said, "You make me feel all warm and cozy." he mumbled, blushing.

Dan averted his eyes to the bed sheets and started fumbling with them. _Did I actually just fucking say that out loud? He probably thinks I'm super weir-_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Phil giggling quite adorably, and when Dan finally looked up, Phil had the biggest grin on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" Dan smirked.

"Nothing," Phil said, smiling, "You're just cute, that's all."

Dan's face went a deep shade of red and he felt like his heart was going to explode. _I can't believe he just called me cute._

"I'm not cute, I'm manly as hell!" Dan said, flexing his skinny arms.

This action made Phil laugh, loudly, and he gave Dan a little shove.

"Okay Dan, whatever you say." Phil laughed.

"Oh, you don't think I'm manly?" Dan challenged.

"Psh, not at all." Phil smirked.

Dan grinned devilishly and pounced on top of Phil, wrestling him to the ground. After a few seconds of continued wrestling, Dan had Phil pinned to the ground with his arms above his head.

"Told you I'm manly." Dan bragged, "Do you believe me now?"

"Y-Yes," Phil replied, slightly out of breath, "Although, it would be stupid for me to say no when we're in such a compromising position." he said, glancing down between their bodies.

Dan smirked and slightly leaned in closer, "It would, wouldn't it?" he whispered.

Phil nodded and leaned his head up so he was closer to Dan's face.

Dan could literally feel Phil's breath across his face. _This is the perfect chance,_ Dan thought, _just kiss him._

Dan leaned in and started to close his eyes, and he noticed Phil doing the same. Millimeters apart from Phil's lips, Dan stopped.

"Phil, can I kiss you?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.

"Please," Phil whimpered slightly.

Dan smiled and leaned in more, finally meeting Phil's lips. The kiss didn't nearly last long enough for both of their likings, and once they pulled away, their mouths rejoined in seconds. Dan released Phil's arms and Phil placed his hands around Dan's neck, bringing him closer.

Their mouths moved in perfect synchronization as Dan lightly grabbed at Phil's hair.

 _Oh my god_ , Dan thought, _this is amazing. He is amazing._

After a few more moments of passionate kissing, the two boys finally pulled apart.

"Wow," Phil breathed, looking at Dan with hooded eyes.

Dan grinned and pushed Phil's hair away from his face, "I agree." he whispered.

Dan got off of Phil and stood up, offering a hand to help Phil get up as well.

Neither of the two said anything, and Dan was starting to feel awkward. _Did I ruin everything? he thought. Should I not have kissed him? What if I was right about Phil having a boyfriend? Did I just make Phil cheat on his-_

"Dan?" Phil asked, stepping closer to him, "I can practically hear you thinking. What's wrong?" he asked.

Dan looked down at his hands and started fumbling with them, "Phil, I'm-"

"Do you regret kissing me?" Phil asked, his voice slightly quivering.

Dan's head snapped up, "Oh my god, of course not! It's just…" Dan paused, trying to think of what to say, "I loved kissing you. A lot. I could probably do it for hours, honestly." he began, "But then I realized that we haven't known each other for very long and I don't even know if you're single and I've never kissed anyone before and I don't even know if that was enjoyable and-"

"Stop, stop, stop," Phil said, taking Dan's hand, "You don't have to worry. I don't have a boyfriend. I'm very much single. As for the kiss, it was amazing. That's why I said 'Wow', silly." he smiled.

"Really?" Dan smiled.

"Yes, really. Stop worrying, okay?" Phil said, stepping closer and pulling Dan in for a hug.

Dan wrapped his arms around Phil's waist and buried his face in the crook of Phil's neck. It would be hard for him to say that this moment wasn't the best moment of his life so far.


End file.
